For the past eight or nine years, I have owned a Blue Circle BC21.1 tubed preamp. This used to be BC's entry level preamp, but is now discontinued and has been for some time. Every once in a while one of these puppies pops up on Audiogon, but not that frequently. Perhaps that attests to the love its owners have for it, that they keep it around for a long time, like I have. Perhaps five years ago, I sent it back to Gilbert at Blue Circle for a few upgrades - namely, a Level 1 outboard power supply, a new selector switch (same as that used in higher models), and to bypass the balance control which I never used anyways. Last year, I had another 10,000uF of cap added inside the chassis. While it is not as tricked out as a BC21.1 can be, it is fairly far along in that department. Certainly, a significant change from its first baby steps in my system.
Not only has the BC21.1 been trusty and true, but I have loved its beautiful music. The presentation is fairly dynamic in the bass department and full of PRAT (Pacing, Rhythm, and Timing). Put another way, it is full of life and passion. Not without its flaws, it can also tend to get a little bogged down when a musical passage becomes too complex, and it was not the last word in high frequency extension, with cymbals being the most obvious victim. But these errors are forgivable given its modest price point. In my system over time, it had never felt like the weak link. That is, until recent system upgrades such as the discerning and fast Bryston BDA-1 DAC, the TACT RCS 2.0 room correction "computer", the brilliant Salk HT1-TL ribbon speakers, and BC22mk2 POT+LOC monoblock amplifiers, have forced me re-evaluate and consider a more expensive alternative - the BC3000mk2.
I choose to stay with Blue Circle because I like their house sound, and I like knowing that Gilbert is up early and up late (I assume) working on all manner of pedestrian (read: stock) and exotic (read: as custom as you want to go) gear. I follow the BC blog regularly, and Gilbert is always innovating. And it's all handmade - by Gilbert. Fun.
So one day, a BC3000mk2 became available on Audiogon, for sale by one of the BC forum members. I leapt and bought it. But before I spend any time describing the differences between my old and new preamplifiers, let me first give a little more history. Since I have been contemplating a preamplifier upgrade, I contacted Gilbert with my likes/dislikes and he suggested a BC109. This is Blue Circle's only solid state preamp, and judging from the BC forum, it's a doozy. The BC109 has so much capacitance that, after a complete charge-up, it can run without connection to the wall for many hours, depending on how much capacitance it has. This supposedly yields an incredibly smooth, grain free, distortion-free sound that is pure heaven to hear. I am paraphrasing what I have read, of course. I haven't heard it yet, but I plan to do so in the not-so-distant future. Before I do, I first wanted to hear what the BC3000 was all about.
What does a more than doubling of price get you? Well, it offers tremendous technical improvement in almost every area of listening performance. In the bass region, notes are taught, starting and stopping quickly with little or no overhang, and reveal good texture (as the recording allows). In my system and even with the TACT, some low frequencies can suffer at the merciless hands of my room. With the BC21.1, certain bass notes are either lower or higher in volume, or are fast or bloated and slow. Switching to the BC3000mk2, these issues are nearly completely resolved. I am sure there are several reasons why this is the case, including the circuit design itself, but I suspect that the fairly large outboard power supply (roughly twice the size of the BC21.1 power supply) also plays a big role here. This also means that large swells in the music are indeed subjectively louder and more powerful thru the BC3000 than the BC21.1.
The midrange vocals are also well served, more polished and refined, less grain. High frequencies are clearly and without doubt more extended. Any song with cymbals in it easily demonstrates this fact. Interestingly, the sound from the BC3000mk2 appears to be more dynamic with regards to drums and acoustic guitars. It is as if these instruments hit you in the face, thru the higher level preamp. As they should. I am not saying that the presentation of the BC3000 is necessarily more forward compared with the BC21.1. Instead, it's more like the music is pushing up against the soundstage boundary more forcefully, as if it's filling the acoustic "room" of the recording more fully.
In my system, the front of the sound stage was a couple feet in front of the speakers, and extends by another couple of feet behind the speakers to the back wall boundary. If music is recorded with good left-right or vertical staging, then the BC3000 easily reproduces that, often extending outside the speaker boundaries. Vocals are well layered, separating the main singer from backup vocals. The sound space is somehow more densely populated in the BC3000 compared with the BC21.1, yet there exists more space between performers and instruments. The background of the BC3000 is extremely quiet - you could hear a pin drop in the recording venue.
The one drawback I have found is the way BC3000 presents its bass. I contrast this against the very positive bass qualities I commented on above. It's most expedient to say that, with the BC21.1, my feet were bouncing along with the song; with the BC3000 my body was swaying but the feet tended to be more still. Perhaps this is because the BC21.1 is more bass heavy while the BC3000 is more balanced over the frequency range. Probably the BC3000 is more correct in its presentation. But the BC21.1 wins me over in this area.
The BC3000 is staying in my system for the time being because it offers (nearly) everything. Can the BC109 solid state preamp offer me everything I want.... the best of both the BC3000 and BC21.1 worlds, plus an even more refined presentation? Or, would an even larger outboard power supply (like the Gzpz, or KQ) mated with the BC3000 completely win me over? I don't know yet. Until then, I will continue to enjoy the amazing Blue Circle preamps!
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